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Gone is the Medieval setting, replaced by something more modern. It’s still very Gothic, but the protagonist appears to be wielding a shotgun. But all the other trappings of a Souls game are there: fog-gates, undead enemies, that distinctly dark, third-person aesthetic.

Project Beast is rumored to be in development at From Software along with Japan Studio—one of Sony’s in-house developers. This would mean that the game is a PlayStation exclusive, and likely a PS4 exclusive.

And that means it might be a sequel, or spiritual successor, to Demon’s Souls.

Now 19 seconds of gameplay footage have also been leaked. Watching this, I’m more certain than ever that this isn’t a fake:

The soundtrack to the above video is taken from Demon’s Souls, though that may very well be the work of whoever leaked the footage in the first place.

If this is a hoax it’s one of the most brilliant, in-depth video game hoaxes I’ve seen. My money is on its legitimacy. I’m willing to bet we see an official announcement at E3 this June.

I’m pretty excited about the potential of a new Souls game that takes place in an entirely different era. Shotguns? Yes, please.

I do wonder if that means heavy armor is off the table. The game, from the footage above, looks a bit faster than other Souls entries. In a world with guns, plate armor and other vestiges of the pre-black-powder era would be unnecessary.

The protagonist’s approach toward the boss at the end of this video may be what has convinced me the most about it’s legitimacy, honestly. It just looks and feels so much like a Souls game, I have a hard time harboring too many doubts.

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I’m resisting the urge to just spam “Omg” in this rectangular box, but even from the low resolution it’s at least obvious the graphical fidelity is 100% next-gen, this is not a last gen game, it is head and shoulders above DS2 even at this paltry resolution. I wouldn’t put down heavy armor or shields, but it could happen, Hidetaka might be ready for an evolution in the series, or perhaps there’s no magic now, only guns, there are many possibilities.

Having finally seen it I predict now more than ever that this is Hidetaka and his original team’s game, given they left the DS2 team to new leads and directors, it makes a lot of sense.

Some are speculating that this game may be a spiritual successor to From Software’s “Shadow Tower”: a game with a similar gothic style and guns like Project Beast. I don’t know much about the game myself, but I like the theory since I don’t believe Project Beast is a spiritual successor/sequal to Demon’s Souls.

Lol well it could very well be a Shadow Tower spiritual successor but I am about to send your brain for a loop because guess what? Demon’s Souls was the Spiritual Successor of Shadow Tower so either way this game will be a Souls game through and through. =D

Also if anyone was interested Shadow Tower: Abyss was originally slated for release in the U.S. and even had a fully completed translation but was pulled at the last second and never released outside of Japan but over the past 5 years or so a group of fans have been working with a ROM of the Japanese PS2 game and have put together a fully working English translated version of the game. It will even play in a PS2 if you burn it to a DVD correctly though if you have a decent PC should play in PCSX2 just fine. Also seeing as this was never licensed State side it might even be legal to those opposed to pirating.

“The protagonist’s approach toward the boss at the end of this video may be what has convinced me the most about it’s legitimacy, honestly.” You want ‘its’ there Erik.

I’ve heard speculation that this is being made by a different studio, a copycat, to cash in on From’s success. The video makes it hard for me to believe it could be anyone but From at the helm.

I hope heavy armor sticks around though, as you still see swords and shields being used in the trailer. Plus in a world likely rife with magic, plate armor and its ilk might not be as obsolete as normal conventions would demand.